Wrexham are in the mix for another promotion this season but fans have every reason to be excited about the long-term future too.
Wrexham have just nine games left to play in the League One season and fans are dreaming of another promotion.
This time of year tends to be exciting at Wrexham and Phil Parkinson is looking to get over the line once again.
Much of this Wrexham rise has been with experienced stars in mind with Parkinson often going down the route of signing tried-and-tested performers.
Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer, Steven Fletcher and Elliot Lee fit that bill, as does January signing Jay Rodriguez.
Wrexham have though started to target young players too with Lewis Brunt, Sebastian Revan, Josh Adam and Modou Faal among those to arrive since promotion to League One.
Wrexham youth boss on Harry Ashfield
The hope is that Wrexham can not only develop those players into stars, but also bring through talent from the youth setup.
Wrexham’s academy hasn’t always been prominent in terms of top talents coming through.
Max Cleworth has become a first-team star though and Wrexham will hope to see more players of his quality emerge.
The leading candidate right now is undoubtedly Harry Ashfield having already shown his potential this season.
Ashfield started against Peterborough United in the EFL Trophy semi-final in February and produced an impressive performance.
Wrexham fans raved about Ashfield as the teenager emerged as a shining light from midfield.
Phil Parkinson added that Ashfield is ‘gifted’ with Wrexham academy manager Andy Lowe now joining in.
Speaking on Wrexham’s official website, Lowe noted that Wrexham fans chanting ‘he’s one of our own’ about Ashfield against Peterborough was an ‘amazing feeling’.
Lowe believes that Ashfield’s rise is a major inspiration for other Wrexham youngsters who want to become first-team stars.
Ashfield hasn’t yet established himself as a Wrexham first-team star, but few would be surprised to see him shine like Cleworth in the years to come.
“The really important thing to note for ourselves as an Academy, is the early success we’ve had so far. To see the fans shout Harry Ashfield, he’s one of our own, as he left the pitch, that’s an amazing feeling and experience for Harry and his family.
“That provides inspiration, and that night we had the whole Academy and their parents in attendance watching that game.
Wrexham’s youth frustration
Wrexham are hoping to bring the club’s academy forward in the coming years and allow talents like Ashfield to thrive.
Investment from Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds will be key but there is a sense of frustration over the talents who slipped through the net.
Humphrey Ker noted to The Leader in 2023 that the likes of Neco Williams, Harry Wilson and Tom Lawrence all moved to other clubs despite being local to Wrexham.
Wrexham simply didn’t have the facilities to compete at the time, meaning Williams and Wilson joined Liverpool whilst Lawrence joined Manchester United.
Wrexham now have the backing to be able to ramp up the youth development side of the club and hopefully prevent local talent moving elsewhere.
Competing with Liverpool and Manchester United will never be easy, but Wrexham finally have hope that more prospects will emerge through the system.